Hi all, I have the sound blaster x ae-5 and wanted to know since there are no reviews comparing the nu audio card to the ae-5 only to motherboard audio how does it compare to the ae-5 in terms of sound quality? If it does sound better I might just replace my ae-5 with the nu audio card :)

TP1125
Hi all, I have the sound blaster x ae-5 and wanted to know since there are no reviews comparing the nu audio card to the ae-5 only to motherboard audio how does it compare to the ae-5 in terms of sound quality? If it does sound better I might just replace my ae-5 with the nu audio card :)

 
I guess you missed this review - https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/2922152

TP1125
Oh one more thing, does the nu audio card have something like creative alchemy for older games?

It doesn't have any software features like Creative Alchemy for older games. 
 
NU Audio product page has images of all the software features it offers. They don't have any software features geared towards gamers like Creative does.
 
Have you tried out Direct HP mode on the AE-5 sound card. Did you change windows sample rate and bit depth to like 24bit/192? (not all games/programs support 32bit/384 Hz)
 

 
 
Creative AE-5 Software features (not all of them)
 

 

 
 

Well I have one PC using an AE-5 and another using the NU audio.  With the AE-5 set to 32bit 384khz playing NU audio's sample file "01_-_God,_The_Misanthrope" with the volume on Groove Music player at volume 80, headphone gain at "low 16-32ohm" and windows master volume at 30 on my HyperX Revolver S it is pretty loud.  But at the same exact settings on my other PC with the NU soundcard @32-bit, 384khz but with the gain control at 5% for approximately 32ohm according to evga's manual on the same headphones the loudness is the equivalent to about volume 15 on the AE-5.  With all settings alike volume is much lower on the NU audio card.  I find myself having to raise the gain up high just to get decent volume out of my headphones compared to the AE-5.  I have a dedicated sata power cable connected to the soundcard fyi.

I wonder how the NU compares to the new Sound Blaster AE-7 and AE-9

True.  I just recently bought the older Blaster Z just for the DTS enconding to connect to a yamaha home theater receiver for 5.1 with Energy Take Classic speakers for my other gaming PC.  My other PC uses a NU audio with the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 but I replaced the speakers with another pair of Energy Take Classic speakers but the audio quality from the home theater receiver setup is noticeably better with the same speakers.  I'll likely be selling my AE-5, Blaster Z and NU audio for two AE-7s for the DTS enconding and DAC quality since I often move my PCs around from home theater setup to analog speaker setup.  Was really hoping the NU audio had DTS enconding.